KANO
\nAn army drone strike accidentally hit a village in northwestern Nigeria killing dozens of civilians celebrating a Muslim festival, local authorities, the military and residents said on Monday.
\nNigeria\u2019s armed forces often rely on air strikes in their battle against so-called bandit militias in the northwest and northeast of the country where jihadists have been waging a 14-year conflict.
\nThe army did not provide details or a death toll for the strike late Sunday in Tudun Biri village, Kaduna State, but residents said dozens were killed and wounded.
\nLocal officials also reported fatalities.
\n\u201cMuslim faithful observing Maulud were mistakenly killed and many others injured following a military drone attack targeting terrorists and bandits,\u201d Kaduna State governor Uba Sani said, ordering an investigation. \u201cWe buried 85 people that were killed in the bomb attack,\u201d said resident Idris Dahiru, whose relatives were among the dead.<\/p>\n
He said more than 60 injured people were being treated in hospital.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was inside the house when the first bomb was dropped… We rushed to the scene to help those affected and then a second bomb was dropped,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy aunt, my brother\u2019s wife and her six children, wives of my four brothers were among the dead. My elder brother\u2019s family are all dead, except his infant child who survived.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dozens of wounded<\/p>\n
Dozens of wounded were taken to a teaching hospital in the state capital Kaduna, local state security commissioner Samuel Aruwan said following a meeting with army officials and community leaders.<\/p>\n
He said the attack left \u201cseveral citizens dead and others injured\u201d but did not provide a toll.<\/p>\n
According to the army, it was a routine mission against militants that \u201cinadvertently affected members of the community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Resident Husseini Ibrahim told AFP late on Monday: \u201cI lost 13 members of my immediate family among the 85 that were killed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey included my children and those of my brothers, seven boys and six girls. We buried the victims today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many of the victims were women and children, resident Hassan Ma\u2019aruf told AFP by telephone, sharing images he said showed the bodies.<\/p>\n
AFP could not immediately confirm the authenticity of the images.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KANO An army drone strike accidentally hit a village in northwestern Nigeria killing dozens of civilians celebrating a Muslim festival, local authorities, the military and residents said on Monday. Nigeria\u2019s armed forces often rely on air strikes in their battle against so-called bandit militias in the northwest and northeast of the country where jihadists have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-372563","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n